Law & Order Special Victims Unit s25e07 Episode Script
Probability of Doom
1
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Hi.
My name's Olivia.
- What's your name?
- Maria.
Hi, Maria.
You and me are gonna talk until
my friends come
and get you, okay?
Tell them to come quick.
What's coming now?
A moment.
[SIGHS]
A voice.
Go with that.
A voice from a missing girl,
but
it's a different one, it's, um
Not Maddie Flynn's voice.
It's, uh
From another case, an old one.
Go with it.
Maria Recinos.
- I don't know why.
- Okay.
Take a breath.
Okay, blank it out.
Just
What are
you getting now?
I closed that case.
I don't
What do you notice in your body?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
It's thick.
My chest is, uh, thick.
My head.
It's like, um
Pressure.
Notice the tension.
I closed this case as a detective.
You know, I put it
in a drawer and I
I moved on to the next one.
What do you notice
in your body now?
I'm very uncomfortable.
From?
You know, life's
little question marks.
How did Maria come
into your life?
I was going on a date,
and, uh
My captain called me
back into the precinct.
He put me on the phone
with this little girl
who had called 911
looking for help.
Maria?
She'd been locked in a room.
Everyone thought it was a prank.
- But not you?
- No.
I-I could hear
the fear in her voice.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
I was on the phone
with Maria through
The worst night of her life.
You haven't seen her since?
No.
You're an NYPD detective.
You found Maria once.
You can find her again.
She's in the empty lot.
We need to dig!
Get some tools!
Good afternoon, fellow NYPD officers,
friends, family.
I'd like to welcome
our graduating class of 2024.
These cadets have chosen
to recognize their place
in the history of the NYPD
with the following motto.
Follow today.
Lead tomorrow.
Help me lift her up.
Come on.
Come on.
- [COUGHS]
- Yeah.
It's okay, Maria.
Olivia.
♪
- That crumb cake?
- Yeah.
Went old school
with a whisk last night.
Just for you.
Even put some bran in it.
Easy, Captain.
We're not there yet.
Really?
So that's how it is?
Yeah, that's how it is.
There's a chain of
command, isn't there?
All right,
then call me Renee
if the captain part
bothers you.
Doesn't bother me.
Good. 'Cause it shouldn't.
Yo, Sarge.
Where's Benson?
Cadet graduation.
What's that about?
Something you need,
Detective?
Yeah, a walk-in.
Lisa Miller.
She says she's going
through a divorce.
And she came to SVU?
Social Services
sent her here.
What for?
I don't know.
I didn't ask.
Maybe next time you should.
Come on.
We'll work this one together.
Oh, you pulling rank on me now.
Mm-hmm.
I told you.
My ex just hired a lawyer,
and they want 50/50 custody.
And you want us to
arrest your ex because?
He's a pervert.
Okay.
Tell us more about that.
[RECORDER CLICKS]
I'm not gonna get in trouble, am I?
Why would you get in trouble?
For taking a screenshot of
what I found,
on his computer.
Now it's on my phone.
There.
What's that look like to you?
That looks like child porn.
That's why I can't
have him around.
What's your ex's name?
Wayne Miller.
Where's Wayne living right now?
Midtown.
At an Airbnb.
We'll need that address.
And a picture of Wayne if you have it.
Where you going?
Put in some calls.
Get us a no-knock.
For all we know, he could be taking
pics of other kids right now.
We're looking
for Wayne Miller.
36, unemployed.
- Any record?
- No.
Let's change that.
All right, I want every computer,
phone, and tablet in this place.
Copy that.
[TENSE MUSIC]
How's that for old school?
NYPD!
We got a search warrant!
It's cold.
Open these cabinets.
Closets too.
Bag that laptop.
Captain!
Sarge!
I think I found him.
♪
[RETCHES]
♪
And now I'd like
to officially welcome you
to put your hands together
for the NYPD graduating
cadet class of 2024.
Congratulations.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE BUZZES]
- Fin.
- We got a problem.
What kind of problem?
You know that child porn
perp I texted you about?
Me, Velasco, and Curry came
to execute a warrant,
and we found something else.
Okay.
Well, what did you find?
A murder.
All right.
Um, I'm on my way.
[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
- You clean up nice.
- Thank you.
You found him dismembered
on plastic sheeting?
Laid out like
a broken puppet.
And where was he cut up?
In a bathtub.
Curry took one look and threw up.
[GRUNTS]
Okay.
We need to make a
positive ID on Wayne Miller.
I'll follow up with the ME.
Okay.
What about the ex-wife?
I'll notify her,
but it's not like
she's gonna be heartbroken.
I just want to make sure
that she's not a suspect
before we console her.
Tough morning, huh?
I think I just lost a few pounds.
You regret leaving IAB yet? No.
How was graduation?
What do we know about this vic?
Aside from the fact
that he was a pedophile?
Seemed like
a normal working-class guy.
Well, other than his looming
federal porn charges.
Yeah, well, whoever killed him
had a more biblical idea of justice.
- You consult CSU?
- Yeah.
And what'd they say?
Only sign of forced entry was
Sergeant Tutuola forcing
in the door.
And the struggle?
In this mess?
ME should have more.
Fin says that he was
chopped up in the bathtub.
I mean, this is
a pre-war building.
Had to have been loud, no?
Neighbors didn't
hear anything.
You know, we could
punt it to Homicide.
In all honesty, I think
they'd rather we take it.
Is that what you want?
If I said no, would
you think less of me?
Okay.
Well, motive seems clear.
As to why somebody would want
a person like
Wayne Miller dead.
Just gotta find opportunity.
I mean, possible some newly
grown-up vic paid him a visit,
or, Miller touched
the wrong dad's kid.
That's a bit of a leap.
Don't you think?
How so?
Some pedos never escalate past photos.
Duly noted.
But, I mean, look around.
- Lots of rage here.
- Yeah. Lots of rage.
But what I see is
Depersonalization.
I mean, taken apart.
Rage killers?
They don't bring supplies.
So a paradox.
No wonder Homicide
punted it to us.
Now what?
Introduce me to the ex-wife.
Her reaction'll tell us a lot.
His body was cut in pieces?
Who would do that?
Somebody who wanted to
delete him from this world.
Wanted to break him down
to his constituent parts.
It wasn't me.
You came in here pleading
for his arrest this
morning, didn't you?
So?
You know, some people,
they come to the cops with what
I call a performative alibi.
And you think
I'm trying to, what?
Cover my tracks?
A-after reporting him
in the first place?
- Are you?
- No.
It's a good way
to inject doubt.
I get squeamish
at the sight of blood.
I could never cut a body up.
Could have hired someone.
I'm a substitute teacher
in a public middle school.
I can't afford a car in
this city, much less a hit man.
All right.
[LOW SOLEMN MUSIC]
♪
Do you have any idea
who hated Wayne,
who had a beef with him?
Other than our custody beef?
I wouldn't know.
We spoke through a mediator.
He complain about any strange calls?
Did he owe anyone money?
There's obviously a lot
Wayne was hiding from me.
When did you first find
these images on his computer?
A few months back.
And you just came in today?
I'm due in a month,
and I didn't want the
stress to affect my baby.
He promised he'd stop.
I believed him.
And you have no idea,
who wanted him dead?
After how off track my radar's been,
I'm not sure of anything anymore.
TARU's still going
through Wayne's computer.
Hundreds of kiddie porn images,
but nothing we can trace.
All right.
So he's a collector.
He probably ripped off the Internet?
TARU found a photo shoot
he took with his phone.
- How many pics?
- Half a dozen.
All the same girl.
This shoot is recent?
- Within the past few months.
- Okay. Pull it up.
Unlike the others,
these are kind of PG.
- Clear view of her face.
- That's right.
Send these photos to NICK-MECK
and Real Time Crime
for facial recognition.
- Copy.
- Looks like these photos
were taken in the back seat
of the same car.
Vinyl upholstery.
That's vintage.
You know, I saw a old
Plymouth Fury in front of Miller's.
I thought it might have been
the neighbors, but maybe not.
Is CSU still at the crime scene?
We're gonna meet 'em at the morgue,
take a closer look at the body.
All right, have the Plymouth
towed to an NYPD garage.
Velasco and I could swing by
there after the morgue.
No, Curry and I will look at the car.
You don't get carsick, do you?
- No.
- All right, divide and conquer.
- 1959 Plymouth Fury.
- She's a beauty.
And she's registered
to Wayne Miller?
Clean chain of title and everything.
Okay.
Vinyl.
- Color matches those back seat pics.
- Perfectly.
They stopped putting
fins on cars in the '60s.
What's your name?
Brandon, Chestnut.
You don't even look
old enough to drive.
You have a look
underneath yet, Chestnut?
I was about to.
"I was about to."
Okay.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
[GROANS]
♪
See anything?
Not yet.
♪
Bingo.
- Curry?
- Yeah.
It's some kind of tracker.
So Wayne was being tracked?
Or hunted.
TARU found out where that
tracker was first activated
a public park up in Kip's Bay.
That's about what, a minute
from Wayne's apartment?
You manage to pull
that Parks Department footage?
[KEYS CLACKING]
When was this recorded?
Yesterday, before
we found Wayne's body.
Or at least the pieces of him.
Is that the girl
in Wayne's photos?
Can we blow up this image?
That's not the girl from the photo.
Definitely not.
But whoever this is,
she may be the last person
who saw Wayne alive,
so, we need to find her.
Curry.
Okay.
Okay, I'll let her know.
- Let her know what?
- Homicide.
911 call just came in
from some guy's wife.
Found her husband's body
parts on a plastic sheet.
Okay, did they say
anything else?
Yeah.
That it's our problem now.
♪
Homicide didn't
wanna wait for me?
Busy night.
All right. Who found the guy?
His wife.
Came home from a business trip
and smelled something funny.
Whoa.
- Okay.
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
She wasn't kiddin'.
- Curry?
- Hmm?
Come on.
Where is the wife now?
This is the same plastic
sheet as our last vic.
[STOVE CLICKING]
Old school.
Who is this guy?
According to the wife
Gary Turner, 60s.
Retired hedge fund guy.
- He have a record?
- Lost half his clients
the second he was put
on the sex registry.
- For what?
- Sex abuse of a minor.
Okay
The Turners wouldn't
happen to have a car
Captain Benson.
Look at this.
Another tracker.
Great work, Captain Curry.
You know what this means, don't you?
I certainly do.
We're looking at a serial,
who goes after child predators.
So you got a cause of death, Truman?
Blunt force trauma to the head.
Please tell me the dismemberment
happened postmortem.
Decomp alone put Turner
dead over a week ago.
Well, the wife didn't do it,
'cause she was out of town.
And what about Wayne, the first vic?
From the core temp of his torso,
I'd say he was dead about
12 hours before you found him.
He had half-digested
Chinese food in his stomach.
We're looking
at the same killer.
Sick bastard.
Fetishizes postmortem punishment.
Played with the bodies.
Sounds like
someone else I know.
Very funny.
Okay, Truman.
Take us through this.
Severance, at the neck, both vics,
and iliofemoral ligaments.
Killer cut through both
the medial and lateral
collateral ligaments as well.
What kind of knife we talking about?
Left kerf marks.
So not a knife.
Striated, forward-cutting action
Some kind of saw blade.
You're looking for a 9-inch blade,
bimetal, maybe a jab saw.
It's not that easy to
knock out a full grown man.
Much less cut through bone
with a handsaw.
- Killer must have some strength.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
What's up, Liv?
All right,
we're on our way.
Real Time Crime ID'd
the girl from the photo shoot.
The one in the back
of Wayne's Plymouth?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's him.
The photographer
with the nice car.
He said he wanted
me to model it for him.
Okay, well, that's very helpful, Nora.
Did this man touch my daughter?
No. Mom.
He just took photos.
So, Mrs. Boyd,
let us handle the questions.
You gonna arrest
this guy or what?
We can't.
He's been murdered.
Well, life's
the number one cause of death.
Mrs. Boyd,
you don't seem very surprised,
that Wayne Miller's been murdered.
I grew up in Hunts Point.
My brother was
a corrections officer.
You don't think
I can fill in the blanks
of the who and what this
Wayne Miller guy was about?
What blanks, Mom?
Nora, maybe you can help us.
So we found another guy.
Another guy who likes
to photograph cars?
No, sweetie.
Another man
who's been murdered.
Well, I only met Wayne.
- How'd you and Wayne meet?
- An app.
My friend said there were guys on it,
willing to pay for modeling jobs.
What app?
K-Dome.
What do we know about it?
It started as a messaging app
for ketamine delivery guys.
But it's grown into a
Craigslist for bottom-feeders.
Nora and her friend seemed
pretty well acquainted with it.
Yeah, the kids order
their party drugs off of it.
So why are pedos using it?
Because these guys
hide where they can.
Well,
TARU just got back to us.
Wayne did have an account,
and so did Gary Turner.
Did Nora have any crossover
with Turner on this plug-in?
Denied even knowing him.
Look into it.
Starting to wonder
if Wayne and Gary
had any other kind of overlap.
Well, TARU ought to be able
to tell you that.
Something on your mind, Liv?
No.
There's nothing wrong
with taking a walk
down memory lane.
It's got nothing
to do with memories.
Then what?
Life's little question marks.
Right.
TARU found a third account
Wayne and Gary had in common.
They were both chatting up
some user named Previous Yam.
- You trace an IP address?
- Yeah.
We got a physical
address in Mott Haven.
Owner on record is a James Brock.
Wife's deceased, has
two daughters, Tori and Nina.
Well, let's vest up
and pay him a visit.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Here we go.
[SIREN WAILS]
Okay, two of you
around the back here.
Two of you this way.
♪
[POUNDS AT DOOR]
James Brock, NYPD!
- [LAUGHING]
- Hold on, do you hear that?
[LAUGHING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[LAUGHTER]
Sounds like girls.
James Brock?
- Who the hell are you?
- NYPD.
We're looking for James Brock.
That's our dad.
- Where is he?
- He's at work.
- Captain.
- Yeah.
What's your name, sweetie?
Nina.
Hey, Nina.
And how old are you?
Don't answer that.
Whatever this is about,
you'll have to come back
when our dad's home.
I'm sorry.
We can't do that.
So you must be Tori.
Tori, I'm Captain Benson,
and we need to speak
with you and your sister.
No, we don't have to do jack squat.
Fair enough.
But your sister's a minor,
so we'll have to get
Child Protection involved.
- For what?
- So somebody can watch her
while we search the premises.
Tori?
She's not going anywhere without me.
Okay, well, then you'll both
have to come with us.
All right?
Let's go.
Come on.
James Brock's
younger daughter.
So Nina Brock.
She's 13.
Really good kid.
Straight-A student.
And her older sister?
Tori Brock. She's 21.
She got a GED at 16,
and she works maintenance
at a building in Midtown.
They say their dad's
on a job in Atlantic City
putting light ballasts
in one of the new hotels.
So it's some kind
of mechanical company.
We've been trying to reach
the hotel job and no luck.
Well, can't you call his phone?
Cell phone goes right to voicemail.
Maybe he's on the run.
For the murders of
Wayne Miller and Gary Turner?
Yeah, the thought did cross my mind.
Did we recover
Brock's computer?
Younger daughter's laptop was
the only device in the house.
We have her on camera with Wayne,
so hopefully Velasco and Curry
will get something out of her.
Oh.
Yeah, that guy was weird.
How did you run into him?
I was waiting for Tori.
She said she'd meet me there.
At the park?
We were gonna go to
a movie a block away.
Hmm.
This guy was weird how?
He waved when he saw me.
But you didn't know him?
No.
I walked away and sat on a bench,
and he sat right next to me.
Mm.
Did he say anything to you?
He asked me about school.
Anything else?
He said he had condoms in his pocket.
It was gross.
Did you tell your sister
he said that to you?
Yeah.
What did she say?
She said that a lot
of guys are like that,
and that I showed good instincts
and I should always trust them.
Can't argue there.
Have you ever used
an app called K-Dome?
What's that?
Did you ever
run into this man?
No.
Can I go home now?
When was the last time
you spoke to your dad?
I talked to him yesterday.
I had a question about a job.
How long has he been in Atlantic City?
It's a long contract.
Hotel job.
You know how hard it is to install
upwards of 2,500 fluorescent lights?
He left you in charge
of the maintenance department
for that building here
in Manhattan, right?
Yeah.
I went to trade school.
But you're also in charge of
your little sister, so that's
That's gotta be tough, right?
Not at all.
She's a good kid.
And what's your dad like?
He's a hard worker.
How often does he come home
from that job in Atlantic City?
Every other weekend or so.
So, take us through what a,
a visit usually looks like.
We usually go out to Lento's Pizza,
order a pitcher of beer,
and he bitches about his bad back.
He's had three discs
replaced last year.
Oh, so does he have trouble
carrying things?
Sometimes.
Why?
Is he in some kind of trouble?
Has your dad,
ever mentioned being worried,
about your little sister?
No.
Why would he be worried?
Maybe you told him
about Nina getting hit on
by that perv in the park?
Oh, he's got enough to worry about.
Like what?
Oh, you know, the usual
The job, taxes.
Nina ever talked to you about
being on an app named K-Dome?
Never heard of it.
Well,
it's a drug dealer's app.
She wouldn't know anything about that.
Maybe she has
a new group of friends,
or maybe she got involved
with the wrong group.
No.
I know all her friends.
Maybe she saw your father on K-Dome.
Why would he be on
an app for drug dealers?
Well, you just mentioned
that he had a bad back, right?
So, what's our working theory here?
That James Brock went on K-Dome,
he's looking for a guy
who approached his daughter
in a park with a pocket
full of condoms?
That'd make a dad mad enough to kill.
Nina said Wayne was a stranger.
He didn't try to touch her.
She said she had no idea
why he was even talking to her.
New York's a short
drive to Atlantic City.
That hotel job's a good alibi.
- I got something.
- You found Brock?
No, his car.
In an impound lot.
It was towed six weeks ago
from a dead-end street off the river.
Six weeks ago?
That's a long time
to be without your car.
And your phone.
DOT found it in the trunk.
Well, who knows what
we're gonna find in that river?
Finally tracked down the guy
who pays Brock for that hotel job.
- And?
- Says it's all wrapped up.
Said he was happy to be headed home.
Something about
his daughter needed him.
- Which one?
- Tori.
Captain!
Sergeant!
- Over here.
- [DOG BARKS]
It looks like
it could be body parts.
You wanna hang back?
I'll be okay.
♪
Oh, my God.
We run Tori's cell records yet?
No.
No reason.
There is one now.
There's nothing to prove.
I'll go get an electronic warrant.
- And call Carisi.
- Okay.
Looks like it adds up
to about half a guy.
Any idea if he's even
the guy you're looking for?
There's a strong probability.
[DARK MUSIC]
- Cause of death?
- Blunt force trauma.
Disarticulation postmortem.
- Like Wayne and Gary.
- Okay.
And we know that
this is James Brock how?
DNA match, to a sample recovered
from a hairbrush at
the Brock residence.
This is the same killer?
There were some inconsistencies.
Dismemberment was not as methodical.
So maybe our killer's first time?
Might explain the hesitation marks.
Well, either that, or
They actually knew each other.
How long has this
body been in the water?
Decomp is usually
decelerated by cold water,
but I found a fair amount
of limpets in the bags.
Limpets?
Chitinous gastropods
with grinding radula.
Ate the flesh.
Along with some microorganisms,
so, I'd say at least six weeks.
[EERIE MUSIC]
- Thank you, Doctor.
- Let's go.
♪
I didn't do anything.
You still have
to come with us, Tori.
What about my little sister?
I have to pick her up after school.
We'll handle that.
Yo, I got something.
- Is this yours?
- Yeah. So?
Send it to TARU.
Have 'em search it for the K-Dome app.
We found his body, Tori.
Nina had nothing
to do with any of it.
I can explain.
You know what I want
you to explain to me?
Why now?
What happened six weeks ago?
I want a lawyer.
♪
She make any admission at the arrest?
No.
She toughed it out.
Waited on her lawyer.
But we recovered a bimetal
jab saw at her workplace.
What about a phone?
Well, the calls from
her father stopped
the day he went into the river.
No surprise there.
And messages
on the K-Dome app
between her and Wayne
and her and Gary.
Also stopped on the days
of their deaths.
She catfished these guys.
She lured them in
using her little sister.
Set up a meet,
planted a tracker.
Probably just rang the doorbell
in her handyman outfit.
Do we think that Nina
is at all complicit in this?
It doesn't look like it.
Plus, it would violate
Tori's primary self-concept
as Nina's protector.
That's our only hook.
Well, let's use it.
They look like nice men.
Oh, but you know that they weren't.
We know that you communicated
with them, Tori,
on the K-Dome app.
All that proves is
that those pedophiles
were catfishing her.
We have evidence.
A tool that we found,
in your client's place of work
was used to dismember
at least two men.
- Yuck.
- That building has a
team of handymen
with access to that room.
- You talk to any of them?
- No, we didn't.
We typically don't like
to waste our time.
You're saying that
these were bad men, though?
Yeah, these were bad men.
So maybe they got what they deserved.
Oh, there's a vigilante
lurking around the fringes
of this case, all right.
You think maybe my dad did it?
Did he have a violent streak?
♪
Did I
Did I say something that upset you?
No.
Someone had a violent streak.
Someone, in addition to your father.
How do you mean?
His body in the river?
Last time I saw him, he was sad.
This wasn't a suicide,
Tori, but I think that you know that.
[LOW TENSE MUSIC]
♪
I think
That you were protecting your sister.
You want to know what else I think?
I think that maybe your
dad deserved to die too
At least to whoever killed him.
♪
Yeah.
- Yeah, he did.
- Tori, stop talking.
All three of them deserved it.
Yeah.
[SNIFFLES]
And I liked it.
[CHUCKLES]
Yeah.
[SOFTLY]
I liked it.
So, Tori, can you
Help us understand how this all began?
My dad made me sleep in bed with him,
the night my mom died.
I was eight.
He made me
Sleep in bed with him
every night after that.
I am
So sorry.
It must have been horrible.
I would think of a vise
around my head,
closing,
'cause, they're strong.
Made of metal.
And can crush things.
So you shut it out,
the world.
You were never
able to be a little girl.
So then what?
I got older.
Tori, when did it start with Nina?
She was eight.
[SNIFFLES]
I was coming back
from going to the bathroom,
and I saw his hand,
on her doorknob.
So I took him by the hand.
Took him back to bed.
To him and your mother's bed?
It was our bed now.
And you did that
every night after that?
To protect Nina.
It was easier,
when he would work out of town.
Like the job
in Atlantic City?
He said he was coming home.
[CRIES]
I couldn't
I couldn't stomach it anymore.
Why did you kill Wayne and Gary?
[LAUGHS SADLY]
I wanted to make the world safe.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
Tori
How many others were there?
That's it.
What are we talking about here?
This is a tragic story,
but your client
still murdered three people.
I can talk to the DA,
but, Tori,
you're going away for a long time.
What's gonna happen to Nina?
Now that there's
no one to protect her?
♪
James Brock created a monster.
And then she killed him.
What is gonna happen to Nina?
Is she gonna go in the system?
You're afraid we're gonna
create another monster?
She gets the wrong foster family?
I'm not letting that happen.
Tori's going to prison?
She is, but,
your sister is gonna get
the help that she needs.
They're gonna take care of her.
She's been lying
to me about my dad?
Like we said, Nina,
he's, um
He's not coming home.
[CRIES]
Will I be able to visit her?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, of course.
Will she be able to
call me on the phone?
Yes.
What's gonna happen to me?
So about that,
I wanted to tell you something.
I found your grandmother.
- I don't have a grandmother.
- Actually, you do.
Your mother's mother.
And I know that,
you didn't get to spend
a lot of time with her
when you were younger.
But I talked to her
and she misses you.
And she loves you so much.
What's her name?
Her name is Bonnie.
She lives in Texas.
Nina, she's gonna come here,
and she's gonna take care of you.
Would you like that?
♪
How you doing?
I'm good.
You're drinking boxed wine,
so I know that's a lie.
Well, I'm gonna have a seltzer next.
I'll have a scotch.
What's with the article?
You know, I was just,
um, remembering.
You're all over the place.
Didn't you tell me
it wasn't about memories?
Just a little bit of
- life's little questions?
- [SIGHS]
Well, Fin, if you must know,
I was just thinking about
Tori Brock.
Tori Brock is a lunatic
who gets sexually excited
by dismemberment.
Well, I feel for her.
Your empathy has no bounds, Liv.
I see the terrified girl in her,
waiting for her father to come home
Trying to guess which version
of him she's gonna get,
the man
Or the monster.
And trying to navigate
I mean,
living in a limbo like that,
trying to
Calculate
The probability of doom.
Two separate situations,
but this is starting to make sense.
What is?
This isn't about Tori Brock
or Maria Recinos.
This is all about you.
- It's about me?
- Yeah.
This is something I never
thought I would say out loud,
but you're scared.
- I'm not scared.
- Yes, you are.
You're scared to the
answer to your little question.
What became of her?
That girl you saved.
I mean, what if she's a jerk?
What if she doesn't remember it
as such a big deal as you did?
What if you and her have
nothing to say to each other?
You've been running
these probabilities
over and over in your head.
- You're not wrong.
- [LAUGHS]
You know there's another way
to say that, right?
There is?
[BOTH LAUGH]
It's close enough.
Okay, Fin.
You're right.
♪
[GENTLE MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
♪
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Maria?
Um
♪
Why don't you come inside?
I'd like that.
♪
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Hi.
My name's Olivia.
- What's your name?
- Maria.
Hi, Maria.
You and me are gonna talk until
my friends come
and get you, okay?
Tell them to come quick.
What's coming now?
A moment.
[SIGHS]
A voice.
Go with that.
A voice from a missing girl,
but
it's a different one, it's, um
Not Maddie Flynn's voice.
It's, uh
From another case, an old one.
Go with it.
Maria Recinos.
- I don't know why.
- Okay.
Take a breath.
Okay, blank it out.
Just
What are
you getting now?
I closed that case.
I don't
What do you notice in your body?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
It's thick.
My chest is, uh, thick.
My head.
It's like, um
Pressure.
Notice the tension.
I closed this case as a detective.
You know, I put it
in a drawer and I
I moved on to the next one.
What do you notice
in your body now?
I'm very uncomfortable.
From?
You know, life's
little question marks.
How did Maria come
into your life?
I was going on a date,
and, uh
My captain called me
back into the precinct.
He put me on the phone
with this little girl
who had called 911
looking for help.
Maria?
She'd been locked in a room.
Everyone thought it was a prank.
- But not you?
- No.
I-I could hear
the fear in her voice.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
I was on the phone
with Maria through
The worst night of her life.
You haven't seen her since?
No.
You're an NYPD detective.
You found Maria once.
You can find her again.
She's in the empty lot.
We need to dig!
Get some tools!
Good afternoon, fellow NYPD officers,
friends, family.
I'd like to welcome
our graduating class of 2024.
These cadets have chosen
to recognize their place
in the history of the NYPD
with the following motto.
Follow today.
Lead tomorrow.
Help me lift her up.
Come on.
Come on.
- [COUGHS]
- Yeah.
It's okay, Maria.
Olivia.
♪
- That crumb cake?
- Yeah.
Went old school
with a whisk last night.
Just for you.
Even put some bran in it.
Easy, Captain.
We're not there yet.
Really?
So that's how it is?
Yeah, that's how it is.
There's a chain of
command, isn't there?
All right,
then call me Renee
if the captain part
bothers you.
Doesn't bother me.
Good. 'Cause it shouldn't.
Yo, Sarge.
Where's Benson?
Cadet graduation.
What's that about?
Something you need,
Detective?
Yeah, a walk-in.
Lisa Miller.
She says she's going
through a divorce.
And she came to SVU?
Social Services
sent her here.
What for?
I don't know.
I didn't ask.
Maybe next time you should.
Come on.
We'll work this one together.
Oh, you pulling rank on me now.
Mm-hmm.
I told you.
My ex just hired a lawyer,
and they want 50/50 custody.
And you want us to
arrest your ex because?
He's a pervert.
Okay.
Tell us more about that.
[RECORDER CLICKS]
I'm not gonna get in trouble, am I?
Why would you get in trouble?
For taking a screenshot of
what I found,
on his computer.
Now it's on my phone.
There.
What's that look like to you?
That looks like child porn.
That's why I can't
have him around.
What's your ex's name?
Wayne Miller.
Where's Wayne living right now?
Midtown.
At an Airbnb.
We'll need that address.
And a picture of Wayne if you have it.
Where you going?
Put in some calls.
Get us a no-knock.
For all we know, he could be taking
pics of other kids right now.
We're looking
for Wayne Miller.
36, unemployed.
- Any record?
- No.
Let's change that.
All right, I want every computer,
phone, and tablet in this place.
Copy that.
[TENSE MUSIC]
How's that for old school?
NYPD!
We got a search warrant!
It's cold.
Open these cabinets.
Closets too.
Bag that laptop.
Captain!
Sarge!
I think I found him.
♪
[RETCHES]
♪
And now I'd like
to officially welcome you
to put your hands together
for the NYPD graduating
cadet class of 2024.
Congratulations.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE BUZZES]
- Fin.
- We got a problem.
What kind of problem?
You know that child porn
perp I texted you about?
Me, Velasco, and Curry came
to execute a warrant,
and we found something else.
Okay.
Well, what did you find?
A murder.
All right.
Um, I'm on my way.
[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
- You clean up nice.
- Thank you.
You found him dismembered
on plastic sheeting?
Laid out like
a broken puppet.
And where was he cut up?
In a bathtub.
Curry took one look and threw up.
[GRUNTS]
Okay.
We need to make a
positive ID on Wayne Miller.
I'll follow up with the ME.
Okay.
What about the ex-wife?
I'll notify her,
but it's not like
she's gonna be heartbroken.
I just want to make sure
that she's not a suspect
before we console her.
Tough morning, huh?
I think I just lost a few pounds.
You regret leaving IAB yet? No.
How was graduation?
What do we know about this vic?
Aside from the fact
that he was a pedophile?
Seemed like
a normal working-class guy.
Well, other than his looming
federal porn charges.
Yeah, well, whoever killed him
had a more biblical idea of justice.
- You consult CSU?
- Yeah.
And what'd they say?
Only sign of forced entry was
Sergeant Tutuola forcing
in the door.
And the struggle?
In this mess?
ME should have more.
Fin says that he was
chopped up in the bathtub.
I mean, this is
a pre-war building.
Had to have been loud, no?
Neighbors didn't
hear anything.
You know, we could
punt it to Homicide.
In all honesty, I think
they'd rather we take it.
Is that what you want?
If I said no, would
you think less of me?
Okay.
Well, motive seems clear.
As to why somebody would want
a person like
Wayne Miller dead.
Just gotta find opportunity.
I mean, possible some newly
grown-up vic paid him a visit,
or, Miller touched
the wrong dad's kid.
That's a bit of a leap.
Don't you think?
How so?
Some pedos never escalate past photos.
Duly noted.
But, I mean, look around.
- Lots of rage here.
- Yeah. Lots of rage.
But what I see is
Depersonalization.
I mean, taken apart.
Rage killers?
They don't bring supplies.
So a paradox.
No wonder Homicide
punted it to us.
Now what?
Introduce me to the ex-wife.
Her reaction'll tell us a lot.
His body was cut in pieces?
Who would do that?
Somebody who wanted to
delete him from this world.
Wanted to break him down
to his constituent parts.
It wasn't me.
You came in here pleading
for his arrest this
morning, didn't you?
So?
You know, some people,
they come to the cops with what
I call a performative alibi.
And you think
I'm trying to, what?
Cover my tracks?
A-after reporting him
in the first place?
- Are you?
- No.
It's a good way
to inject doubt.
I get squeamish
at the sight of blood.
I could never cut a body up.
Could have hired someone.
I'm a substitute teacher
in a public middle school.
I can't afford a car in
this city, much less a hit man.
All right.
[LOW SOLEMN MUSIC]
♪
Do you have any idea
who hated Wayne,
who had a beef with him?
Other than our custody beef?
I wouldn't know.
We spoke through a mediator.
He complain about any strange calls?
Did he owe anyone money?
There's obviously a lot
Wayne was hiding from me.
When did you first find
these images on his computer?
A few months back.
And you just came in today?
I'm due in a month,
and I didn't want the
stress to affect my baby.
He promised he'd stop.
I believed him.
And you have no idea,
who wanted him dead?
After how off track my radar's been,
I'm not sure of anything anymore.
TARU's still going
through Wayne's computer.
Hundreds of kiddie porn images,
but nothing we can trace.
All right.
So he's a collector.
He probably ripped off the Internet?
TARU found a photo shoot
he took with his phone.
- How many pics?
- Half a dozen.
All the same girl.
This shoot is recent?
- Within the past few months.
- Okay. Pull it up.
Unlike the others,
these are kind of PG.
- Clear view of her face.
- That's right.
Send these photos to NICK-MECK
and Real Time Crime
for facial recognition.
- Copy.
- Looks like these photos
were taken in the back seat
of the same car.
Vinyl upholstery.
That's vintage.
You know, I saw a old
Plymouth Fury in front of Miller's.
I thought it might have been
the neighbors, but maybe not.
Is CSU still at the crime scene?
We're gonna meet 'em at the morgue,
take a closer look at the body.
All right, have the Plymouth
towed to an NYPD garage.
Velasco and I could swing by
there after the morgue.
No, Curry and I will look at the car.
You don't get carsick, do you?
- No.
- All right, divide and conquer.
- 1959 Plymouth Fury.
- She's a beauty.
And she's registered
to Wayne Miller?
Clean chain of title and everything.
Okay.
Vinyl.
- Color matches those back seat pics.
- Perfectly.
They stopped putting
fins on cars in the '60s.
What's your name?
Brandon, Chestnut.
You don't even look
old enough to drive.
You have a look
underneath yet, Chestnut?
I was about to.
"I was about to."
Okay.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
[GROANS]
♪
See anything?
Not yet.
♪
Bingo.
- Curry?
- Yeah.
It's some kind of tracker.
So Wayne was being tracked?
Or hunted.
TARU found out where that
tracker was first activated
a public park up in Kip's Bay.
That's about what, a minute
from Wayne's apartment?
You manage to pull
that Parks Department footage?
[KEYS CLACKING]
When was this recorded?
Yesterday, before
we found Wayne's body.
Or at least the pieces of him.
Is that the girl
in Wayne's photos?
Can we blow up this image?
That's not the girl from the photo.
Definitely not.
But whoever this is,
she may be the last person
who saw Wayne alive,
so, we need to find her.
Curry.
Okay.
Okay, I'll let her know.
- Let her know what?
- Homicide.
911 call just came in
from some guy's wife.
Found her husband's body
parts on a plastic sheet.
Okay, did they say
anything else?
Yeah.
That it's our problem now.
♪
Homicide didn't
wanna wait for me?
Busy night.
All right. Who found the guy?
His wife.
Came home from a business trip
and smelled something funny.
Whoa.
- Okay.
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
She wasn't kiddin'.
- Curry?
- Hmm?
Come on.
Where is the wife now?
This is the same plastic
sheet as our last vic.
[STOVE CLICKING]
Old school.
Who is this guy?
According to the wife
Gary Turner, 60s.
Retired hedge fund guy.
- He have a record?
- Lost half his clients
the second he was put
on the sex registry.
- For what?
- Sex abuse of a minor.
Okay
The Turners wouldn't
happen to have a car
Captain Benson.
Look at this.
Another tracker.
Great work, Captain Curry.
You know what this means, don't you?
I certainly do.
We're looking at a serial,
who goes after child predators.
So you got a cause of death, Truman?
Blunt force trauma to the head.
Please tell me the dismemberment
happened postmortem.
Decomp alone put Turner
dead over a week ago.
Well, the wife didn't do it,
'cause she was out of town.
And what about Wayne, the first vic?
From the core temp of his torso,
I'd say he was dead about
12 hours before you found him.
He had half-digested
Chinese food in his stomach.
We're looking
at the same killer.
Sick bastard.
Fetishizes postmortem punishment.
Played with the bodies.
Sounds like
someone else I know.
Very funny.
Okay, Truman.
Take us through this.
Severance, at the neck, both vics,
and iliofemoral ligaments.
Killer cut through both
the medial and lateral
collateral ligaments as well.
What kind of knife we talking about?
Left kerf marks.
So not a knife.
Striated, forward-cutting action
Some kind of saw blade.
You're looking for a 9-inch blade,
bimetal, maybe a jab saw.
It's not that easy to
knock out a full grown man.
Much less cut through bone
with a handsaw.
- Killer must have some strength.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
What's up, Liv?
All right,
we're on our way.
Real Time Crime ID'd
the girl from the photo shoot.
The one in the back
of Wayne's Plymouth?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's him.
The photographer
with the nice car.
He said he wanted
me to model it for him.
Okay, well, that's very helpful, Nora.
Did this man touch my daughter?
No. Mom.
He just took photos.
So, Mrs. Boyd,
let us handle the questions.
You gonna arrest
this guy or what?
We can't.
He's been murdered.
Well, life's
the number one cause of death.
Mrs. Boyd,
you don't seem very surprised,
that Wayne Miller's been murdered.
I grew up in Hunts Point.
My brother was
a corrections officer.
You don't think
I can fill in the blanks
of the who and what this
Wayne Miller guy was about?
What blanks, Mom?
Nora, maybe you can help us.
So we found another guy.
Another guy who likes
to photograph cars?
No, sweetie.
Another man
who's been murdered.
Well, I only met Wayne.
- How'd you and Wayne meet?
- An app.
My friend said there were guys on it,
willing to pay for modeling jobs.
What app?
K-Dome.
What do we know about it?
It started as a messaging app
for ketamine delivery guys.
But it's grown into a
Craigslist for bottom-feeders.
Nora and her friend seemed
pretty well acquainted with it.
Yeah, the kids order
their party drugs off of it.
So why are pedos using it?
Because these guys
hide where they can.
Well,
TARU just got back to us.
Wayne did have an account,
and so did Gary Turner.
Did Nora have any crossover
with Turner on this plug-in?
Denied even knowing him.
Look into it.
Starting to wonder
if Wayne and Gary
had any other kind of overlap.
Well, TARU ought to be able
to tell you that.
Something on your mind, Liv?
No.
There's nothing wrong
with taking a walk
down memory lane.
It's got nothing
to do with memories.
Then what?
Life's little question marks.
Right.
TARU found a third account
Wayne and Gary had in common.
They were both chatting up
some user named Previous Yam.
- You trace an IP address?
- Yeah.
We got a physical
address in Mott Haven.
Owner on record is a James Brock.
Wife's deceased, has
two daughters, Tori and Nina.
Well, let's vest up
and pay him a visit.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Here we go.
[SIREN WAILS]
Okay, two of you
around the back here.
Two of you this way.
♪
[POUNDS AT DOOR]
James Brock, NYPD!
- [LAUGHING]
- Hold on, do you hear that?
[LAUGHING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[LAUGHTER]
Sounds like girls.
James Brock?
- Who the hell are you?
- NYPD.
We're looking for James Brock.
That's our dad.
- Where is he?
- He's at work.
- Captain.
- Yeah.
What's your name, sweetie?
Nina.
Hey, Nina.
And how old are you?
Don't answer that.
Whatever this is about,
you'll have to come back
when our dad's home.
I'm sorry.
We can't do that.
So you must be Tori.
Tori, I'm Captain Benson,
and we need to speak
with you and your sister.
No, we don't have to do jack squat.
Fair enough.
But your sister's a minor,
so we'll have to get
Child Protection involved.
- For what?
- So somebody can watch her
while we search the premises.
Tori?
She's not going anywhere without me.
Okay, well, then you'll both
have to come with us.
All right?
Let's go.
Come on.
James Brock's
younger daughter.
So Nina Brock.
She's 13.
Really good kid.
Straight-A student.
And her older sister?
Tori Brock. She's 21.
She got a GED at 16,
and she works maintenance
at a building in Midtown.
They say their dad's
on a job in Atlantic City
putting light ballasts
in one of the new hotels.
So it's some kind
of mechanical company.
We've been trying to reach
the hotel job and no luck.
Well, can't you call his phone?
Cell phone goes right to voicemail.
Maybe he's on the run.
For the murders of
Wayne Miller and Gary Turner?
Yeah, the thought did cross my mind.
Did we recover
Brock's computer?
Younger daughter's laptop was
the only device in the house.
We have her on camera with Wayne,
so hopefully Velasco and Curry
will get something out of her.
Oh.
Yeah, that guy was weird.
How did you run into him?
I was waiting for Tori.
She said she'd meet me there.
At the park?
We were gonna go to
a movie a block away.
Hmm.
This guy was weird how?
He waved when he saw me.
But you didn't know him?
No.
I walked away and sat on a bench,
and he sat right next to me.
Mm.
Did he say anything to you?
He asked me about school.
Anything else?
He said he had condoms in his pocket.
It was gross.
Did you tell your sister
he said that to you?
Yeah.
What did she say?
She said that a lot
of guys are like that,
and that I showed good instincts
and I should always trust them.
Can't argue there.
Have you ever used
an app called K-Dome?
What's that?
Did you ever
run into this man?
No.
Can I go home now?
When was the last time
you spoke to your dad?
I talked to him yesterday.
I had a question about a job.
How long has he been in Atlantic City?
It's a long contract.
Hotel job.
You know how hard it is to install
upwards of 2,500 fluorescent lights?
He left you in charge
of the maintenance department
for that building here
in Manhattan, right?
Yeah.
I went to trade school.
But you're also in charge of
your little sister, so that's
That's gotta be tough, right?
Not at all.
She's a good kid.
And what's your dad like?
He's a hard worker.
How often does he come home
from that job in Atlantic City?
Every other weekend or so.
So, take us through what a,
a visit usually looks like.
We usually go out to Lento's Pizza,
order a pitcher of beer,
and he bitches about his bad back.
He's had three discs
replaced last year.
Oh, so does he have trouble
carrying things?
Sometimes.
Why?
Is he in some kind of trouble?
Has your dad,
ever mentioned being worried,
about your little sister?
No.
Why would he be worried?
Maybe you told him
about Nina getting hit on
by that perv in the park?
Oh, he's got enough to worry about.
Like what?
Oh, you know, the usual
The job, taxes.
Nina ever talked to you about
being on an app named K-Dome?
Never heard of it.
Well,
it's a drug dealer's app.
She wouldn't know anything about that.
Maybe she has
a new group of friends,
or maybe she got involved
with the wrong group.
No.
I know all her friends.
Maybe she saw your father on K-Dome.
Why would he be on
an app for drug dealers?
Well, you just mentioned
that he had a bad back, right?
So, what's our working theory here?
That James Brock went on K-Dome,
he's looking for a guy
who approached his daughter
in a park with a pocket
full of condoms?
That'd make a dad mad enough to kill.
Nina said Wayne was a stranger.
He didn't try to touch her.
She said she had no idea
why he was even talking to her.
New York's a short
drive to Atlantic City.
That hotel job's a good alibi.
- I got something.
- You found Brock?
No, his car.
In an impound lot.
It was towed six weeks ago
from a dead-end street off the river.
Six weeks ago?
That's a long time
to be without your car.
And your phone.
DOT found it in the trunk.
Well, who knows what
we're gonna find in that river?
Finally tracked down the guy
who pays Brock for that hotel job.
- And?
- Says it's all wrapped up.
Said he was happy to be headed home.
Something about
his daughter needed him.
- Which one?
- Tori.
Captain!
Sergeant!
- Over here.
- [DOG BARKS]
It looks like
it could be body parts.
You wanna hang back?
I'll be okay.
♪
Oh, my God.
We run Tori's cell records yet?
No.
No reason.
There is one now.
There's nothing to prove.
I'll go get an electronic warrant.
- And call Carisi.
- Okay.
Looks like it adds up
to about half a guy.
Any idea if he's even
the guy you're looking for?
There's a strong probability.
[DARK MUSIC]
- Cause of death?
- Blunt force trauma.
Disarticulation postmortem.
- Like Wayne and Gary.
- Okay.
And we know that
this is James Brock how?
DNA match, to a sample recovered
from a hairbrush at
the Brock residence.
This is the same killer?
There were some inconsistencies.
Dismemberment was not as methodical.
So maybe our killer's first time?
Might explain the hesitation marks.
Well, either that, or
They actually knew each other.
How long has this
body been in the water?
Decomp is usually
decelerated by cold water,
but I found a fair amount
of limpets in the bags.
Limpets?
Chitinous gastropods
with grinding radula.
Ate the flesh.
Along with some microorganisms,
so, I'd say at least six weeks.
[EERIE MUSIC]
- Thank you, Doctor.
- Let's go.
♪
I didn't do anything.
You still have
to come with us, Tori.
What about my little sister?
I have to pick her up after school.
We'll handle that.
Yo, I got something.
- Is this yours?
- Yeah. So?
Send it to TARU.
Have 'em search it for the K-Dome app.
We found his body, Tori.
Nina had nothing
to do with any of it.
I can explain.
You know what I want
you to explain to me?
Why now?
What happened six weeks ago?
I want a lawyer.
♪
She make any admission at the arrest?
No.
She toughed it out.
Waited on her lawyer.
But we recovered a bimetal
jab saw at her workplace.
What about a phone?
Well, the calls from
her father stopped
the day he went into the river.
No surprise there.
And messages
on the K-Dome app
between her and Wayne
and her and Gary.
Also stopped on the days
of their deaths.
She catfished these guys.
She lured them in
using her little sister.
Set up a meet,
planted a tracker.
Probably just rang the doorbell
in her handyman outfit.
Do we think that Nina
is at all complicit in this?
It doesn't look like it.
Plus, it would violate
Tori's primary self-concept
as Nina's protector.
That's our only hook.
Well, let's use it.
They look like nice men.
Oh, but you know that they weren't.
We know that you communicated
with them, Tori,
on the K-Dome app.
All that proves is
that those pedophiles
were catfishing her.
We have evidence.
A tool that we found,
in your client's place of work
was used to dismember
at least two men.
- Yuck.
- That building has a
team of handymen
with access to that room.
- You talk to any of them?
- No, we didn't.
We typically don't like
to waste our time.
You're saying that
these were bad men, though?
Yeah, these were bad men.
So maybe they got what they deserved.
Oh, there's a vigilante
lurking around the fringes
of this case, all right.
You think maybe my dad did it?
Did he have a violent streak?
♪
Did I
Did I say something that upset you?
No.
Someone had a violent streak.
Someone, in addition to your father.
How do you mean?
His body in the river?
Last time I saw him, he was sad.
This wasn't a suicide,
Tori, but I think that you know that.
[LOW TENSE MUSIC]
♪
I think
That you were protecting your sister.
You want to know what else I think?
I think that maybe your
dad deserved to die too
At least to whoever killed him.
♪
Yeah.
- Yeah, he did.
- Tori, stop talking.
All three of them deserved it.
Yeah.
[SNIFFLES]
And I liked it.
[CHUCKLES]
Yeah.
[SOFTLY]
I liked it.
So, Tori, can you
Help us understand how this all began?
My dad made me sleep in bed with him,
the night my mom died.
I was eight.
He made me
Sleep in bed with him
every night after that.
I am
So sorry.
It must have been horrible.
I would think of a vise
around my head,
closing,
'cause, they're strong.
Made of metal.
And can crush things.
So you shut it out,
the world.
You were never
able to be a little girl.
So then what?
I got older.
Tori, when did it start with Nina?
She was eight.
[SNIFFLES]
I was coming back
from going to the bathroom,
and I saw his hand,
on her doorknob.
So I took him by the hand.
Took him back to bed.
To him and your mother's bed?
It was our bed now.
And you did that
every night after that?
To protect Nina.
It was easier,
when he would work out of town.
Like the job
in Atlantic City?
He said he was coming home.
[CRIES]
I couldn't
I couldn't stomach it anymore.
Why did you kill Wayne and Gary?
[LAUGHS SADLY]
I wanted to make the world safe.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
Tori
How many others were there?
That's it.
What are we talking about here?
This is a tragic story,
but your client
still murdered three people.
I can talk to the DA,
but, Tori,
you're going away for a long time.
What's gonna happen to Nina?
Now that there's
no one to protect her?
♪
James Brock created a monster.
And then she killed him.
What is gonna happen to Nina?
Is she gonna go in the system?
You're afraid we're gonna
create another monster?
She gets the wrong foster family?
I'm not letting that happen.
Tori's going to prison?
She is, but,
your sister is gonna get
the help that she needs.
They're gonna take care of her.
She's been lying
to me about my dad?
Like we said, Nina,
he's, um
He's not coming home.
[CRIES]
Will I be able to visit her?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, of course.
Will she be able to
call me on the phone?
Yes.
What's gonna happen to me?
So about that,
I wanted to tell you something.
I found your grandmother.
- I don't have a grandmother.
- Actually, you do.
Your mother's mother.
And I know that,
you didn't get to spend
a lot of time with her
when you were younger.
But I talked to her
and she misses you.
And she loves you so much.
What's her name?
Her name is Bonnie.
She lives in Texas.
Nina, she's gonna come here,
and she's gonna take care of you.
Would you like that?
♪
How you doing?
I'm good.
You're drinking boxed wine,
so I know that's a lie.
Well, I'm gonna have a seltzer next.
I'll have a scotch.
What's with the article?
You know, I was just,
um, remembering.
You're all over the place.
Didn't you tell me
it wasn't about memories?
Just a little bit of
- life's little questions?
- [SIGHS]
Well, Fin, if you must know,
I was just thinking about
Tori Brock.
Tori Brock is a lunatic
who gets sexually excited
by dismemberment.
Well, I feel for her.
Your empathy has no bounds, Liv.
I see the terrified girl in her,
waiting for her father to come home
Trying to guess which version
of him she's gonna get,
the man
Or the monster.
And trying to navigate
I mean,
living in a limbo like that,
trying to
Calculate
The probability of doom.
Two separate situations,
but this is starting to make sense.
What is?
This isn't about Tori Brock
or Maria Recinos.
This is all about you.
- It's about me?
- Yeah.
This is something I never
thought I would say out loud,
but you're scared.
- I'm not scared.
- Yes, you are.
You're scared to the
answer to your little question.
What became of her?
That girl you saved.
I mean, what if she's a jerk?
What if she doesn't remember it
as such a big deal as you did?
What if you and her have
nothing to say to each other?
You've been running
these probabilities
over and over in your head.
- You're not wrong.
- [LAUGHS]
You know there's another way
to say that, right?
There is?
[BOTH LAUGH]
It's close enough.
Okay, Fin.
You're right.
♪
[GENTLE MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
♪
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Maria?
Um
♪
Why don't you come inside?
I'd like that.
♪